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News Article

Suicide Bomber Strikes at Iraqi Recruiting Center Near Airfield

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2005  A terrorist bomber killed himself and five others today during an attack outside an airfield in Iraq, military officials in Baghdad reported.

The attack, which wounded 24 others, happened near the Muthana Airfield around 9:30 a.m. Those injured in today's blast were Iraqi army recruits and one Iraqi soldier. Another Iraqi soldier was among those killed. The airfield houses a recruiting center that provides additional security forces for Baghdad, officials said.

Also today, Task Force Liberty soldiers and Iraqi police conducting a joint search in Kirkuk detained three people suspected of terrorist activity. Soldiers and police confiscated 10 rocket-propelled grenades, five fragmentary grenades, five AK-47 assault rifles and a mortar sight.

In other news from Iraq, terrorists blew up a newly built police station in the Lutafiyah district of south Baghdad just after midnight July 20. No one was injured in the explosion, officials said, because the police had not yet moved into the station, but the building was destroyed.

"We will have to reassess the whole building to determine the next step in reconstruction; however, I know the Iraqi police want a station in Lutafiyah, and they are determined to have one," said U.S. Army Capt. Joe Lynch, a civil affairs project manager for the 48th Brigade Combat Team. "We will do all we can to assist them."

A 48th BCT spokesman noted that terrorists in the area continue to attack the Iraqi people and their infrastructure. "Terrorists offer nothing for the future of Iraq but hardships and violence," said Lt. Col. Thomas Carden.

Iraqi soldiers are investigating the incident, and Iraqi contractors and engineers are assessing the damage to the building to determine how much work needs to be done to rebuild the police station, officials said.